Seals Clapback

Live Science

Unique footage of a gray seal clapping underwater reveals a new way the animals communicate underwater … and scientists flip out. Seal footage credit: Ben Burville

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00:00New footage revealed a cute form of underwater chit chat among seals.

00:05Captured near the foreign islands in Northeast England, the footage showed a male gray seal smacking his flippers together forcefully.

00:12That's the first time a wild seal was filmed clapping underwater, unprompted by training or any sort of delicious treat from zookeepers.

00:20The claps were surprisingly loud, and scientists still aren't sure how the seal was able to make such a piercing sound underwater

00:27without having any air to compress between its flippers.

00:30The seal swam near a female seal and another male seal.

00:34The male would sometimes reply with clapping of his own, but the female would not.

00:38Based on the new footage and previous anecdotes, the authors concluded that only male seals appear to clap like this.

00:44It's not clear why seals might clap, but researchers suggest it could be to attract mates or shoo away competitors.

00:50That's your Strange News Snapshot. I'm Yasmin Sapagoli with Live Science.

00:57Not strange enough for you? Check out more strange news at LiveScience.com.

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